Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Tony Osborne
Revenues at engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce have fallen for the first time in a decade after a bumpy 2014, and the company is expecting more pain in 2015.

Primarily operating out of Misawa Air Base, Japan, the expeditionary EA-18G Growler squadron was able to relocate at a moment’s notice, participating in exercises and providing detachments around the Pacific.

Amy Svitak
PARIS – Europe's fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Feb. 14, marking the end of a seven-year era in European spaceflight.

In observance of the Presidents Day holiday in the U.S., Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not be publishing on Monday, Feb. 16. The next issue will be dated Wednesday, Feb. 18.

General Dynamics announced Feb. 13 that Larry R. Flynn, president of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., will succeed Joseph T. Lombardo as executive vice president of the company’s Aerospace group when Lombardo retires in June. Mark L. Burns, president of product support for Gulfstream, will succeed Flynn. Meanwhile, M. Amy Gilliland, vice president for human resources, will succeed Walter M. Oliver as General Dynamics’ senior vice president for human resources and administration when Oliver retires next month.

ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES and ALPHA DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES teamed to supply mini-UASs, including IAI’s Bird-Eye 400 and 650, in India; system production will take place in India, while marketing will be a joint effort between the companies. ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES delivered its first T-38 replacement wing to USAF; program calls for up to 200 shipsets. RAYTHEON IIS has $270m U.S. Navy contract to provide V-22 systems, testing and software out of Indianapolis.

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Feb. 19-20 — The Society of Experimental Test Pilots 8th Annual Southeast Section Symposium, Valparaiso, Florida. For more information go to www.setp.org/southeast/8th-annual-southeast-section-symposium-click-her…

BOMBARDIER unveiled new financing plans as Pierre Beaudoin stepped down as president; Alaine Bellemare, former head of UTC’s Propulsion & Aerospace

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the nomination of Ashton Carter to become the next defense secretary, 93-5. He will replace former Nebraska

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), chairman of the environmental subcommittee, said the nation can ill afford lapses in weather-satellite coverage. "Instead of continuing down the path of large government-owned satellites that are prone to cost overruns and delays, we must look outside the box for new methods of providing essential weather data," he said.

By Jay Menon
India's defense ministry has been asking for extensions, a Boeing India executive says. "We did provide them as and when appropriate," he says. "It is not always possible to keep extending, because we live in a world where we feel inflationary pressure."

By Jay Menon
The 5.5-ton, twin-engine Dhruv, manufactured by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), has been clocking a worrisome safety record recently, with three accidents in less than a month.

By Bradley Perrett
The F-35 program has no firm plan to shift to Quickstep’s glycol-based production method. But Quickstep, with Lockheed Martin’s support, has run tests on hundreds of pieces made with the process.

Senior U.S. Air Force officials remain confident the service will achieve its plan to declare initial operational capability (IOC) for the F-35A by the end of December 2016, though doing so is presenting a major challenge in maintenance resourcing.

By Bradley Perrett
BAE expects to expand its operation at RAAF Williamtown, Newcastle, for maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades of F-35 airframes. "Depending on the customer’s requirements, new infrastructure may be required at our facility in Williamtown," a BAE spokeswoman says.

By Guy Norris
The work will be undertaken in a 150,000-sq.-ft. building that Virgin will lease in Douglas Park, an industrial area on the north side of Long Beach airport built on land formerly occupied by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.

In the midst of a major budget crunch at the Pentagon, the Air Force is ill-equipped to explain just how a request for $220.5 million for a “red air” aggressor aircraft got into the fiscal 2016 budget plan sent to Congress Feb. 2.

By Michael Bruno
The two armed services this week unveiled their respective lists, following the Navy and Marine Corps last June, as well as the Defense Logistics Agency in December.

BAE SYSTEMS was selected by Australia to maintain its F-35s from 2018; TAE was selected to service engines. CAE had C$52.9m net income for third

/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/asd_02_12_2015_specs.pdf B-2A Spirit Specs (See pp. 6-9 for full B-2A Program Dossier) Designation

/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/asd_02_12_2015_dossier11.pdf Definition: The B-2A Spirit (often referred to simply as "The Stealth Bomber") is a U.S. low-observable, long-range, heavy bomber. It was built by Northrop Grumman, which remains the prime contractor for its sustainment and modernization.

By Molly McMillin
Hatt & Associates is a global aircraft sales business based in Colorado with offices in Denver; Scottsdale, Arizona; San Jose, California; Wichita and Dubai.

The order for the fighters, plus a DCNS Fremm multipurpose frigate and MBDA missiles, will be signed on Monday, Feb. 16 in Cairo by Defense Minister Jean-Yves le Drian.
Defense

By Guy Norris
Forced to attempt its Falcon 9 first stage recoveries at sea, primarily for safety reasons, SpaceX now plans to beef up the seaworthiness of its autonomous spaceport drone ship to handle more extreme weathers and sea states.